1.6 million UK households to be hit by £1,441 charge 'at some point in 2024'

People with mortgage payments have been warned they'll be given no respite after the Bank of England held the base rate today. The Bank of England decided to keep the rate unchanged at 5.25% on Thursday, although governor Andrew Bailey said he is "optimistic that things are moving in the right direction".

f you add up all the current UK mortgage payments and divide them by the number of mortgages, you'll discover the average monthly payment per person is between £665 and £700. The average monthly mortgage repayment on a house in the UK is currently £1,441.36.

Around 1.6 million fixed-rate mortgages are due to end or have already ended at some point in 2024, according to trade association UK Finance. Kate Steere, housing expert at personal finance comparison site finder.com said of the decision to hold the base rate: "This will no doubt be a huge blow to borrowers who were hoping for some relief for their mortgage payments, with many big lenders increasing their rates in recent weeks."

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Paul Broadhead, head of mortgage and housing policy at the BSA said: "We still anticipate that the MPC (Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee) will cut rates later this year, and although mortgage rates have ticked up slightly in recent weeks, they remain lower than they were this time last year.

"However, those coming to the end of a fixed-rate mortgage that was agreed before the bank rate started to rise in December 2021 will need to prepare for a significant increase in their mortgage payments. Anyone who is concerned that they may experience financial difficulties in the coming months should contact their lender as soon as possible, preferably before missing any payments."

Andrew Montlake, managing director of Coreo Mortgage Brokers said: "A summer rate cut would provide a welcome tonic to improve sentiment in the housing market and come as a welcome relief to thousands of borrowers." Matt Smith, Rightmove's mortgage expert said: "We'd expect that average mortgage rates will begin to trickle down again soon ...

"The market is still assuming that the first base rate cut will happen in the summer, and today's decision is unlikely to change that view. All eyes now turn to the publication of April's inflation data, which is the next key milestone and is likely to determine the immediate direction of mortgage rates in the UK."

Mark Hicks, head of active savings, Hargreaves Lansdown said: "For savers, there are still multiple rates across easy access savings and Isas, and fixed-term products, which pay over 5%. However, banks have been slowly reducing the rates on offer in easy-access space, as they start to prepare for a base rate cut later this year."